


It's a hell of a town

by Spoodlemonkey



Series: Apartment Au [1]
Category: Fantastic Four
Genre: AU, F/M, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Slash, moving in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 16:03:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7059628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoodlemonkey/pseuds/Spoodlemonkey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben's followed Reed everywhere, why wouldn't he follow him to New York? (Or how they met the Storm siblings.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a hell of a town

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bananaandthena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananaandthena/gifts).



> Technically the first part in my Apartment Au Universe! Johnny is a little shit when he wants to be-- especially when he first meets Ben...

Ben's never really been that interested in the idea of school. He's more of a hands on guy-- stick him in a garage or wherever, show him what needs to be done, and 90% of the time he'll figure out what to do to himself. He spent most of his summers tearing apart old engines and piecing them back together with his uncle, and sometimes Reed, when the kid wasn't off at the library, or playing mad scientist. 

So the idea to go to college, even for part time courses, shocks the hell out of pretty much everyone (Ben included).

Reeds taking off to New York though and Ben figures he has plenty of time to come back and settle into the life everyone expects of him if this fails. Where Reed goes, he goes. It’s worked for them for years, why mess with it now?

The education system is cringe worthy though, if only for how much it _costs_. Residence isn’t an option for either of them so they go looking for apartments. Their first choice is a three bedroom apartment that someone has listed; it’s close to the school, transit, and is in pretty good shape. The only problem is the guy looking for roommates. Stephen is…strange. To say the least. They find him in some sort of trance when they show up to view the apartment. It goes downhill from there. He spends a good five minutes rambling on in another language (that Reed later tells him wasn’t any known _human_ language), has incense set up all over the place that set off Reeds allergies and accuses a squirrel of being a demon from another dimension.

Ben doesn’t bother sticking around. He waits for Stephen to continue his argument with the squirrel grabs Reed by the collar and drags him out of there as fast as he can.

Everything else is out of their price range though, or on the other side of the city, so they spend the next few days taking the train into the city in the hope that they’ll stumble across something.

Reed goes to pick up the textbooks he’ll need and bumps into a kid named Peter that’s sharing some science class with him. Turns out his friends are looking for roommates.

And this is how they end up meeting one half of the Storm siblings.

Sue and Johnny have a four bedroom apartment, with a few suspicious stains and walls that could use a good paint job but it’s affordable and not too far from the school. Their old roommates had left at the last moment leaving the pair struggling to make the rent. Sue is cheerful, easy to get along with, and doesn’t wander off to have a conversation with a squirrel ten minutes into their visit.

Ben takes one look at the love struck expression on Reed’s face and knows they’ll be moving into the shitty little apartment. He figures Reed will be too busy staring at Susan Storm to notice the water stain on the ceiling of the room he’s picked out.

He doesn’t actually meet Johnny until the day they’re moving in. He’s unloading the heavier boxes from his uncle’s truck when he turns around to find some kid sprawled on the front steps of the building; he uses the term kid loosely, he can’t be that much younger than Ben.  He’s propped up on his elbows, sunglasses shielding his eyes, but Ben can feel his gaze on him. The kids all long lines and compact muscles under a threadbare v neck and jeans, and Ben takes a moment just to _look_ because if the kid can, then hell what’s there to stop him?

“Hey roomie.” The kid smirks and Ben nearly misses his step, arms loaded up with boxes.

“Storm?” Ben clarifies, watching as the smirk grows. Of fucking course.

“Johnny.” The kid doesn’t get up to help him with the boxes, or the door, and Ben’s pretty sure his new roommate is an _asshole_.

The elevator isn’t working when he manages to get through the doors so he trudges up to the second floor, cursing under his breath as he goes. Sue grabs the door for him as he’s struggling into the apartment and she glances over his shoulder like she’s expecting another person and, _oh._

“Reed ran down the street to pick up some cords or something.” Ben grins at Sue’s expression. She knows she’s been caught but waves it off with,

“I was looking for my brother.”

“Yeah, he’s hanging out on the steps.” Ben shifts the heavy box. “Is he always an asshole or is that just today?”

Sue frowns and Ben quickly adds a,

“No offense.” He’s never been that great at picking his words.

“It comes and goes.” Is all she says, and when Ben gets back from dropping off the box she’s disappeared.

Strangely enough he bumps into Johnny on his way back down the stairs. The kids got a few boxes balanced in his arms, glasses pushed up into short blonde hair, revealing gorgeous clear blue eyes. Asshole, Ben reminds himself.

“Do I want to know what’s in this?” Johnny asks as they meet halfway. “It smells like _death_.”

Ben glances over the messy writing on the side and laughs.

“Reed’s experiments. Whatever you do, _don’t drop them_.”

Johnny gives them a wary glance, shifting his grip so it’s more secure.

“So, did your sister find you?” Ben guesses grinning at the scowl the question provokes. “Thanks for the help _roomie_.”

“You can make it up to me.” Johnny recovers quickly, smirk in place as he resumes his trek up the stairs. “Buy me pizza later and we call it even.”

He doesn’t give Ben a chance to reply, disappearing down the hall to their apartment. He isn’t sure what he would have come up with, given the chance. He’s pretty sure he wasn’t imagining the extra sway to the kid’s hips.

He is so _screwed_.


End file.
